Milan - Marseille (25/11/09)

[GeoTav]

I know it's a bit early to start a thread about our next game of CL ... but, let's face it, it's a very important game, probably more important that what we think because our destiny in CL will be played there !!

I explain: we all think that we will win in Zurich for sure or almost, so we aren't afraid about our next game and are probably too confident (we = the fans).
But if we were to lose this game for any reason, then, the game in Zurich would be anything but easy ... pressure would be huge and we would depend on the other result too (depending on the score in our possible defeat against Marseille).

1st: Milan - 7 pts
2nd: Madrid - 7 pts
3rd: Marseille - 6 pts
4th: Zurich - 3 pts

One thing is sure: we will be ahead Madrid if we end with the same number of points.

So, the key in this game will be the way we play: are we going to play like we want, which is something we don't manage to do yet against very attacking teams, or are we going to let Marseille dominate ?
Marseille will probably play with five fast attacking players if Lucho Gonzales is still injured.

Also, we will have to face a confident Marseille team after their win against Zurich (6-1 in Marseille) and probably a good result in Lyon tonight (they are leading the game 3-2 in Lyon and it's the 65th).

For our side, confidence is back and our team seems to know his strenghts now even if we probably didn't reach all our potential (which is something good, that means the team can still improve) ...

Only one thing to add: forza Rossoneri and let's win this game to easily qualify and end at the first place !!

[remote2book]

agree geo... this break is also at a good time the players will be rested and go into the break with high confidence i am confident we are gonna have a postive result in this game against marseille

[Lebanese]

Geo we are going to win just because you started this thread.

[ACMILAN1983]

Must win imo. We need to secure qualification as it would be horrible to need a win against Zurich on the last matchday.

[kaka_8_22]

forza Rossoneri and let's win this game to easily qualify and end at the first place !

win the match, hands-down

[idowu]

kudos to milan with the wonderful performance of the whole team against cagliari and with what ac milan played today i believe they will defeat marseille by 3 goals to nothing. GOOD JOB KEEP UP UR CONSISTENT FORM AND SCORE MORE GOALS.

[kastriot]

Dont wanna rush....But i feel than marseille cant do anything against us atm...

[hitmannq8]

ac milan's trick to winning was being the underdog... let's not get a bit complacent here alright...cause everytime we had a 2 goal lead or something we seem to throw it away... let's just hope for a good performance and hopefully a win

[edysupriadi]

After Kaladze-circus show over the weekend, Im just SOOOO glad that Nesta will be back in the defence line..

let's focus & win the game.. !

[HO-YOUNG]

Pirlo needs some YAM (Usain Bolt food)...

[Dutchie-Milan]

Looking at our current form,a win should not be a problem at all.We play good football,Nesta will be back and the match is in our own home: San Siro!

I expect a win,we will get away with at least a point,a defeat will not happen.I think we will win and go through to next round.Looking forward to this game,it will be live in my country.

Like i said,with Ronaldinho really in hot form together with Pato,and Nesta back,the guys also just came off from a break so they are still charged up,a win is excepted.But Marseille is a good team so lets be careful.

[brk]

Not sure if we can be as effective without Borri, and it seems he won't play.

[Warro Bantan]

brk: Perfect opportunity to give Huntelaar a start methinks.

[mrki]

I want to see Milan playing high up the field, like we did is some occasions this year. NEsta will be back so that will be possible. Our midfield is too thin and we are loosing too much time and posesion when we are sitting back.

With this new 4-2-4 strange spanish stile ( which I do not support! unless its fixed and more balance is found which actually creates serious 4-3-3 ) we need to take control of the possesion more, which we are also not doing so well.

But, lets just win it and take 1st place! Forza ragazzi!:firedev:

[Revolver]

Marseille desperately needs win here. If Real win against Zurich, which is almost sure, and Marseille plays draw with us, then they'll have to win 4:0 against Real to qualify and that's frankly not possible.
That's why I don't think Leonardo will play Hunter. Marseille will be open, so we can take them on counter and Hunter is not good in that. He's too slow.
If Leonardo is clever, and I think he is, he will go for win in these 2 games, so that way we will end up first at the table. I think Leonardo knows he didn't exploit his system perfectly yet. Because that inline 2 in midfield, flanks are not covered good, almost all the goals we are conceding come from the flanks. It's not all fault of our side-backs, frankly Oddo and Zambrotta are lacking support from our midfield. Anyway, it's better to avoid a team like, say, Chelsea for now. We need to come first than.
Another thing which bothers me, not actually part of the topic, is that Leonardo never change starting 11. It's always the same. Ok, our bench isn't that good, but Flamini and Gattuso for example could start some games. Huntelaar also. Abate and Antonini are good at the flanks, especially Abate.
Talking about Gattuso, I think he's perfect for this system, he can cover much ground and he needs no attacking involvement at all, which is on the other hand shame for Ambrosini, because he has attacking potential.

[Mystik]

MILAN-MARSIGLIA: I CONVOCATI ROSSONERI
24/11/2009 17.17.00
MILANO - Questi i 20 rossoneri convocati da Mister Leonardo per Milan-Marsiglia:
Dida, Storari, Antonini, De Vito (n°56), Kaladze, Nesta, Oddo, Thiago Silva, Zambrotta, Abate, Ambrosini, Flamini, Pirlo, Seedorf, Borriello, Di Gennaro, Huntelaar, Inzaghi, Pato, Ronaldinho.

Giocatori indisponibili: Jankulovski, Onyewu, Gattuso.

Di Gennaro back in the team while Borriello has a very slight injury and his condition will be evaluated tomorrow.

EDIT: No Janku so that either means Kaladze at LB or we could preferably get Zambro to play LB and Antonini to play RB.

[Dutchie-Milan]

Mystik what are you dreaming?Since when is Kala going to play,the wingbacks will be Oddo and Zambrotta...Have you forgotten Oddo?

[Mystik]

LOL I completely forgot about Oddo...no idea why. Maybe cuz I don't play him on PES. Well yea Oddo and Zambro will most likely play, Oddo completely skipped my mind.

[Lebanese]

i am watching barca inter. inter are laughable really

[Bosniaco]

i am watching barca inter. inter are laughable really

Love it !!!:cheers::cheers::cheers::5chore::5chore::5chore:

[mrki]

“A draw is not enough, that is not the attitude I like from my team. Milan have a great history in Europe and must take that into account. Every time we play, the Final is in our sights.”

Leonardo :p283:

Now, you know when Interisti will say such sentence? :haha::haha::sagrin::haha::haha::haha::dontkn::dontkn::hihihi::

[Reza]

With 2 goals behind it took until the 86 or so minute for the ball to come towards Valdes for the third time. That's poor by any standard.

[brk]

What? Ambrosini has been one of our best players this season. Gattuso can't cover as much ground as he used to, and he's been nowhere near as good as Ambro (or even Flamini) in the few games he played this year.

I don't think rotation is a problem this week, we just came out of a 10 day rest period. Maybe in a week or two we need to rotate.

I think Borri is critical for this game. If not him, then Pippo. I don't want Huntelaar to start out of pity. Let him prove himself against smaller teams, and then reward him with important games.

[Xudong]

Borriello's situation will be examined. Hopefully he could play, but we shouldn't risk him. The season is still long. Pippo can do just fine, if not better (in Europe). :)

[tim_milan]

Im hoping Bori can play, he s been a real asset to this Milan side.

Also, i saw Barca manhandling Inter. Its such a shame, they are the leaders in Serie A.
Stats show they currently have the second best defence in Serie A and yet their defenders could do ****.

[Warro Bantan]

I say give the Hunter a go, but I am not far off from brk's assessment re the Dutch international....so I'm somewhat conflicted...he needs gametime, but at what risk?

IMO the formation/tactic that has been most effective for us is heavily dependent on the physicality of Boriello in holding up the play, and being available for arial crosses from open play and set pieces....as well clearances from the last 2 aforementioned sources.

Pippo, as honest as he keeps opposing defenders by playing on the offside line, cannot offer the same skill-set, nor contribute in the same way as consistently as a more physical forward...hence me thinking that Hunter should start over Pippo.

One of the reasons I think helped in our loss of points away to Napoli is based on the same situation...too often we conceded posession too easily, when Pippo/Pato lost the ball in the attacking phase, so our defense remained under pressure (as confirmed by the numerous saves by Dida).

Marseille, if I remember correctly, has a very physical backline, which too often eliminates Pippo as a set play/set-up/cross-into-the-box threat...and for me his inclusion warrants placing Seedorf or Pirlo on the bench in favor of a midfielder more willing to fight to regain posession in the middle.

His experience, and knack for being in the right place at the right time though, is a potential game winner, of that there is no doubt. He also has a reasonable (if generally ineffective) work-rate in both offensive and defensive phases of the game...

It will be very interesting to see who Leo starts.

Regardless....FORZA MIIILAN! Let's ensure qualification with a win tomorrow!!!

[ACMILAN1983]

It's a shame Barca so comfortably beat what is meant to be Italy's best team. I won't bemoan how bad Inter were, because really they still dominate Serie A which we compete in and beat us badly earlier this season.

What I will say is despite the fact that Italian teams are doing relatively well in CL, none are really competitive enough to win it.

[GeoTav]

It's a shame Barca so comfortably beat what is meant to be Italy's best team. I won't bemoan how bad Inter were, because really they still dominate Serie A which we compete in and beat us badly earlier this season.

What I will say is despite the fact that Italian teams are doing relatively well in CL, none are really competitive enough to win it.

Despite the fact that Inter showed to all Europe how they can be pathetic and boring (argh, like most of the people here, I wanted them to eliminate or at least put Barcelona in a kind of crisis ... but by watching them, I almost falled asleep and I decided to watch Fiorentina), nobody seems to have noticed that Fiorentina did it for the first time !!

Bye bye Liverpool, and welcome Fiorentina in the best 16 teams of Europe ...
Now, for us, if we end 2nd, it would be better to have Fiorentina 1st of their group, if we end 1st, it would be better to have Fiorentina 2nd of their group (we can't play against an Italian team in 1/8 and I don't want us to face Lyon this early in the competition).

So Fiorentina showed the way, let's hope that we will do the same against Marseille (and also against Bordeaux for Juventus ... after 3 wins from French clubs in CL 1 month ago, it could be 3 defeats for them :D).

[Filipéz 182]

Inzaghi going to start according to Gazzetta dello sport. Still I think Borriello deserves to play!

[Revolver]

Inter is pathetic, Mourinho is an idiot. All he can say "Well, they're stronger than us". It's a real shame, because whatever he wants Moratti buys it, and he' s this pathetic. He has to realize that he's not caliber of, say, Sacchi to build the winning team with 3 or 4 average players. In fact, in my opinion, he's not even caliber of Leonardo. Most overrated coach in the last 10 years.

[Revolver]

What? Ambrosini has been one of our best players this season. Gattuso can't cover as much ground as he used to, and he's been nowhere near as good as Ambro (or even Flamini) in the few games he played this year.

I don't think rotation is a problem this week, we just came out of a 10 day rest period. Maybe in a week or two we need to rotate.

I think Borri is critical for this game. If not him, then Pippo. I don't want Huntelaar to start out of pity. Let him prove himself against smaller teams, and then reward him with important games.

Sorry, if this was a reply to my post, you didn't understood me well. Yes Ambrosini is one of our best players this season, I didn't mean to put Ambrosini on bench regularly and play Gattuso, I meant play Gattuso sometimes. Gattuso just came from the ugliest injury the player can get, he still has problems with it, and he needs time to back to full fitness. Remember he was one of our best player last season, until he got injured.

I cannot believe how people quickly forgot what Gattuso did for us in all these years. One red card, one game lost because of him (though they would beat us anyway) and suddenly he's not good anymore.

[Dutchie-Milan]

People have forgotten about Rino because of Ambrosini. Ambro is in great superb form and thats why nobody talks about Rino or Flamini anymore.Ambro is currently maybe our best player,people think Ronaldinho is important,but look at the work Ambro does.He is the only midfielder that protects the defense,Pirlo cant do it,Seedorf doesnt do it,and the forwards are to busy with attack.Ambro is really a great player,he has so much motivation,really love the guy.

Gattuso can play for us in the Serie A matches,Pirlo is suspended against Catania so maybe he will get his comeback then.But for now,there isnt acctually room for Gattuso in our starting XI.We play with only one DM,and that is Ambro.

[Xudong]

Inzaghi going to start according to Gazzetta dello sport. Still I think Borriello deserves to play!

I read that Borriello will play instead of Inzaghi as he passed the pre-match test! :)

[Dutchie-Milan]

Indeed,Borrie will play tonight,so that is a big boost for us.Now i am even more confident we will beat Marseille,also because i just have read that Lucho Gonzales and Cheyrou will be out for this one,so we should really be all over them tonight.Just watch out for those quick counterattacks,Niang can run like hell.

FORZA MILAN!!!!!!!

[Rossoneri8]

I can't imagine how Milan win a match without Borriello lately.

[Dejan]

guys will there be any links to the game? Unfortunately I have ctv and cant select what game i watch...

[honsano]

I'm really happy with the Inter result but kind of upset about it too. We need them to do at least better than our German counterparts to keep the extra Champions League spot in Italy and not take it to Germany. Why is it that they can maintain such dominance in Italy but look like a mid-table team in Champions League? I mean they literally couldn't string more than 3 passes together at any one time, left their shooting boots at home and all the while sat back not putting any pressure on teh barca players allowing them to make pass after pass. I think the completed pass rate of Barca to Inter was literally 2:1. What a terrible game plan set up by Mourihno.

Anyway, I'm really thinking we will get this win. I'm scared we may pull an Inter and sit back and try to counter. If we do that, the problem will be that only Pato is fast enough to counter with no other player able to help apply pressure. Sure R80 can make the pass but no one can support him if he has to hold up the ball. Plus with the addition of a possible Pippo/Hunter for Borigol, they aren't nearly fast enough to help. I just hope Leo plays our attacking game and hope Nesta-Silva can maintain their nearly perfect partnership. I think because the open play Marseille has to adopt, between R80-Pato-Seedorf-Pirlo, we are going to find a lot of space to play with.

I also hope Leo finally allows some rotation in the team as well. We need to get some guys time to play in case one of our elder players picks up an injury. We need to better integrate Abate and Flamini into the team because it's only a matter of time before Seedorf, Ambro or Pirlo get injured. Especially with their current high work rate.

Recording the game but really excited to see it. Hopefully I won't lose my voice this time like I did during the Real match. My girlfriend won't watch the games with me anymore because I'm too loud. :5ok:

[Lebanese]

MILAN-OLYMPIQUE MARSIGLIA: LE FORMAZIONI UFFICIALI
25/11/2009

MILAN: Dida; Oddo, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Zambrotta; Pirlo, Ambrosini; Seedorf; Ronaldinho, Borriello, Pato.
OLYMPIQUE MARSIGLIA: Mandanda; Bonnart, Diawara, Heinze, Taiwo; Cissè, Cheyrou; Abriel, Lucho Gonzalez, Niang; Brandao.

[El Fre]

I don't like seeing borri play.

We shouldn't risk him, and must give Hunter more playing time.

Leo is showing that he is a good coach, but he MUST rotate. He mustn't play the same team week after week, after week.....

Nonetheless, FORZA MILAN!!

[Bosniaco]

Still no Flamini :(

[Xudong]

I don't like seeing borri play.

We shouldn't risk him, and must give Hunter more playing time.

Leo is showing that he is a good coach, but he MUST rotate. He mustn't play the same team week after week, after week.....

Nonetheless, FORZA MILAN!!

I would like to see rotation too, unfortunately, we can't do anything without Borriello, that's the reality. Since this is arguably the biggest game so far, this is the game to risk for. We can always play Huntelaar against Catania.

9 minutes to go!

[OCmilano]

Anyone have some stream links please?

Thanks..:3band:

[ACMILAN1983]

We need to control in midfield to win the game. Marseille will try to physically dominate us so we must keep the ball and control the tempo.

I think the lineup is fine. It's essentially been our first team since we started getting results, so while I'd like to see Flamini and Huntelaar get chances, there's little point in changes what's not broken.

Anyone chasing links can find a number here:

http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=56142&part=sports

[Jay Crisp]

YES Borriello 1-0

[Aficio]

Borrigolllllllllllllllllllll

[Jay Crisp]

FUK sake Oddo you idiot 1-1 lucho

[Aficio]

It was Dida's fault, too. Why did he push the ball to the penalty post?

[Warro Bantan]

Oddo and Dida conspire to gift the equalizer to Marseille...ultimately though, Dida should have done better, but at least he is on form...one clanger every 2 games or so...

Abate to replace Oddo....hopefully we will get better after this forced change.

[Aficio]

Abate for Oddo

[Warro Bantan]

Nesta with 2 poor passes, dead give aways....and he and the rest of the team seem to still be on vacation...it looks like Marseille have twice as many players as we do. Leonardo needs to do something....sloppy sloppy, sloppy.

WAKE UP!! WAKE UP!! Do we have to be losing before we find that xtra gear?

Then the ref and linesmen...I dunno....this whole game is a farce.

Its a circus.

[Aficio]

too much wrong passes. It's raining, but that isn't Milan

[OCmilano]

Thiago what was that bull**** man!!!!!!!!!

We had the goalie out and he kicks it himself..

[OCmilano]

We are getting a little sluggish up front too. I hope we take back the control in this second half.

[ACMILAN1983]

A disappointing first half after a positive start. I'm really disappointed for the goal conceded as Oddo was completely lacking in concentration and awareness at the time and should have dealt with the situation better. Dida also played just as big a part to the goal as he should have probably caught the cross, never mind fumbling the ball straight to Lucho.

We're lacking in concentration too much. Too many unforced mistakes are occurring and it will cost us a second goal at this rate. The midfield are also being pushed back too deep and when we try to move forward there's few targets to aim for as Pirlo and Ambro are often near the central defenders. Two factors are playing to this, the first is we're not working as a single unit and so players from further up aren't supporting the midfield enough, and in turn get isolated as we're forced to play long balls for Borriello (which explains why Pato, Dinho and Seedorf are so uninvolved in the game so far). The second factor is we're not really attacking OM enough. Instead we look happy to try and defend the draw, which isn't going to help us in the slightest.

I hope Leo has some choice words at HT to try and wake the players up. This more than anything is needed right now. OM aren't that good, as besides their physical dominance and pace, they lack the technical ability to really be a good side. We should be looking to win, not draw.

[Xudong]

The goal conceded was just unfortunate. Oddo should get most blame but I wouldn't point my finger to Dida. He didn't do anything wrong in my opinion. He was already fully stretched.

For some reason, we didn't perform well today. Seedorf, Pirlo and Nesta were quiet. Pirlo was particularly bad. Marseille was the better side on the first half, but we had more absolute chances. Zambrotta, Borriello, and Pato all had one-on-one and couldn't convert.

We looked lazy and unmotivated, except for Zambrotta who seemed a new man. I hope that we will win today. It is too important not to win.

[Dutchie-Milan]

Everybody can see where the problem is,it is in the midfield,they are outplaying us with their four midfielders.Seedorf isnt always running back so its Ambro and Pirlo against three or four guys from Marseille.The pace of Niang on the wing was also a problem,but Abate is fast so thats fixed.

We need to bring in a extra midfielder,i dont know for who,but we need to get back the control on midfield.

[Warro Bantan]

We are yet to turn up for the 2nd half...

[Warro Bantan]

Boriello wastefull again....and Leo has Pippo warming up? Gimmie a break!

Will the ref pleeeeeease blow this match off early, while we still have a point?

Finally an attack that looks promising, but Pato loses composure, and the ball out to R80, who crosses str8 to the keeper.

We are back to the shambolic Milan of the start of the season, except for a few flashes of brilliance from R80.

Marseille break, and the striker plays the ball on the crossbar....what a missed chance for Marseille!!

[OCmilano]

we are soooo lucky/..................................

[Aficio]

Abate can't play as RB yet

[OCmilano]

Flaminni now

[Warro Bantan]

We don't have enuf grit on the pitch, and Leo is warming up Pippo!?!?!?

Finally Pato sparks something...Seedorf's shot blocked for a corner, which Nesta(?) Kicks an airball....and we win another corner which comes to.....You guessed it! Nothing!!

[Warro Bantan]

We are hopeless. Simply hopeless this game. What a waste of 90 minutes of my life!!!

We are doing nothing in the middle, every single attack that doesn't involve R80 close to the box, peters out to nothing.

And Leo, wants to put Pippo on? Guess he has no options really....we are actually poor enuf to make Heinze look like a good player!

[Warro Bantan]

Looks like we are playing for a draw...

What a joke...no pressure AT ALL in the Marseille half when they have posession...

Yet another attack goes nowhere...and the ref is a joke...a complete donkey.

[OCmilano]

SAhitttttttttttttt

[Warro Bantan]

I will b very surprised/relieved if we don't lose this match. We are practically handing the points to Marseille on a platter.

And Boriello misses a sitter!!!! LOL!! No really! Why do we insist on making it hard for ourselves....

Again R80...and now Pato misses a sitter, yet the goalie has to make an awkward save...

Now Marseille break, and Abate saves the day!

Morientes on for Cheru...

[Warro Bantan]

Marseille hit the post! And another poor call by the blind linesman.

This is as poor a set of match officials as I have seen in the UCL.

[OCmilano]

wow we are lucky

[Warro Bantan]

So we shud advance with the draw which we played for, and concede 1st place in the group to Madrid.

We must have been saving ourselves for Juve.

All I can say is I am very very very relieved this one is over.

[Dutchie-Milan]

Damn i am very happy with the draw we were pathetic in defense but great in attack.I dont get it,why do we miss so many chances.Borrie should have scored another one.

Marseille were outpacing us for most parts of the game.They hit the bar and the post,they deserved much more.....

Really happy with the draw,it could have gone very bad.....and i mean very bad.

Lets qualify for the next round in Zurich,should not be that hard.

[Filipéz 182]

we can be VERY happy with this draw!!

[Bosniaco]

I really dont think that we are so "great" in the attack. Bad, bad defending

[Xudong]

we had a bad first half and a ****ty second half. in the end, we are lucky to get away with a draw.

let's beat zurich and, ... probably that's it. I feel that we might get Chelsea after we advance. UEFA seems to like drama. We are either getting them or Barca.

Still can't believe that we let this golden chance slip.

[Revolver]

I'm really pissed off! We had much luck on this one. And can anybody PLEASE tell me how much points we have to lose because of Dida?! He cost us 4 points in the last two games! First he parries shot right into Benzema's feet and now the same! ****! PLEASE put Storari in goal.

And what the **** is happening to Pirlo!? He's our worst player in every ****in' match! He was best long passer in world's football, now he don't play it all! Ambrosini tries a long pass more than him.

Man, I'm pissed off! Just what I've been afraid of, this is all cause of lack of ROTATION. Our midfield lost it's legs after one hour. I don't know what Leonardo thinks, at least he can use Flamini from time to time. And truth to be told, Flamini is more creative than Pirlo right now.

This was very "clever" tactics, now we will be drawn against Chelsea, and bye bye CL. Great. Bravo, Leonardo.

[OCmilano]

What group do we play against next round?

WOW Juve might be knocked out against bayern. I hope we get Chelsea. ****'em i want to play against Carlo.

[Revolver]

What group do we play against next round?

It's a draw.

Now lets hope that Marseille will not lose against Real at home, because that way we would be first in the group, if we beat Zurich of course.

[hitmannq8]

I think we can still finish the group on top, however after this performance I am having doubts whether we can beat Zurich... Pirlo and Seedorf today were back to their usual form from the season's start and I believe that was the main reason we sucked today. Our midfield was HORRIBLE, we couldn't win balls we couldn't control possession, we were so bad in the middle of the field. Boriello missed two one on ones! I don't care if he score a goal like that but you can't keep missing these chances, I remember how much he used to miss like this last year.

Zambrotta again, another disappointing performance. I really believe he's finished. Abate, I was never a fan of the kid and I still am not. His inexperience nearly cost us the game (and the qualification to next round). He also has an attitude problem and he isn't a fair player, I really am not a fan of his.

However the only positive thing I saw from this game was Ronaldinho. He was incredible!!! It seems like he's slowly returning to the player he was. Anyway the end of the group is going to be very interesting, Real Madrid will travel to Marseille. If Marseille play like they did today, damn thats going to be a crazy game. Milan need to win at Zurich to qualify for sure.

- If Real Madrid beat Marseille we go through as second place regardless of our score.
- If Real Madrid and Marseille draw we still go through regardless of our game with Zurich, but if we win that game - we become top of the group.
- If Marseille beat Real Madrid, and Milan fail to win...we are eliminated.
- If Milan win, and Marseille win 3-0, Real Madrid would be eliminated. That's the only way Real can get knocked out.

[Revolver]

I think we can still finish the group on top, however after this performance I am having doubts whether we can beat Zurich... Pirlo and Seedorf today were back to their usual form from the season's start and I believe that was the main reason we sucked today. Our midfield was HORRIBLE, we couldn't win balls we couldn't control possession, we were so bad in the middle of the field. Boriello missed two one on ones! I don't care if he score a goal like that but you can't keep missing these chances, I remember how much he used to miss like this last year.

Zambrotta again, another disappointing performance. I really believe he's finished. Abate, I was never a fan of the kid and I still am not. His inexperience nearly cost us the game (and the qualification to next round). He also has an attitude problem and he isn't a fair player, I really am not a fan of his.

However the only positive thing I saw from this game was Ronaldinho. He was incredible!!! It seems like he's slowly returning to the player he was. Anyway the end of the group is going to be very interesting, Real Madrid will travel to Marseille. If Marseille play like they did today, damn thats going to be a crazy game. Milan need to win at Zurich to qualify for sure.

- If Real Madrid beat Marseille we go through as second place regardless of our score.
- If Real Madrid and Marseille draw we still go through regardless of our game with Zurich, but if we win that game - we become top of the group.
- If Marseille beat Real Madrid, and Milan fail to win...we are eliminated.
- If Milan win, and Marseille win 3-0, Real Madrid would be eliminated. That's the only way Real can get knocked out.

What the ****?! Zambrotta was comfortably the best man in our team along with two central defenders! Did you even saw the match?!

I'm sick of many people here putting Zambrotta down. What was wrong in his performance? Only one cross passed him, NONE of players passed him, and he was even our most dangerous player in the first half.

[Revolver]

I didn't saw this at the first time. Ronaldinho incredible?! Now it's sure you didn't watch the game. :pp20: Two good crosses is all he's done tonight. He gave the ball away in at least 5 occasions. The only slower player in our team was Pirlo. If this is incredible, then he's really lost. :)

[Xudong]

What the ****?! Zambrotta was comfortably the best man in our team along with two central defenders! Did you even saw the match?!

I'm sick of many people here putting Zambrotta down. What was wrong in his performance? Only one cross passed him, NONE of players passed him, and he was even our most dangerous player in the first half.

I agree with you. Zambrotta was fine today.

I didn't saw this at the first time. Ronaldinho incredible?! Now it's sure you didn't watch the game. :pp20: Two good crosses is all he's done tonight. He gave the ball away in at least 5 occasions. The only slower player in our team was Pirlo. If this is incredible, then he's really lost. :)

I disagree with you. Ronaldinho was fine today too. But I agree that Pirlo was HORRIBLE. TOTALLY UNMOTIVATED. :groan:

[Xudong]

Real Madrid is almost safe. Unless they lose 0-3, they are through. If they score one (which is almost sure to happen), Marseille will need to repsond with five.

We should be fine. I am happy that we didn't lose at least. It is a shame that we didn't (couldn't) win today, but qualifying into the playoffs is the priority. We should be able to beat Zurich comfortably, after all, our away records have been amazing this year. :D If we don't win, Kaka will help us through. As long as Marseille don't win, we are safe.

It is just annoying that us fans were so pumped up for this "important" game, but (some of) our players couldn't even be bothered to move their asses faster. :groan:

[Rossoneri8]

Bolliello's free header is a guilty opportunity but I'm more worried about Milan's defence without Zambrotta.

[Rossoneri8]

Real Madrid is almost safe. Unless they lose 0-3, they are through. If they score one (which is almost sure to happen), Marseille will need to repsond with five.

We should be fine. I am happy that we didn't lose at least. It is a shame that we didn't (couldn't) win today, but qualifying into the playoffs is the priority. We should be able to beat Zurich comfortably, after all, our away records have been amazing this year. :D If we don't win, Kaka will help us through. As long as Marseille don't win, we are safe.

It is just annoying that us fans were so pumped up for this "important" game, but (some of) our players couldn't even be bothered to move their asses faster. :groan:
Leon should never ever take off his trench coat during the game( Marseille hit the bar as soon as he'd taken off his trademark coat)

[Blacktop]

And can anybody PLEASE tell me how much points we have to lose because of Dida?! He cost us 4 points in the last two games! First he parries shot right into Benzema's feet and now the same! ****! PLEASE put Storari in goal.
We have not lost four points because of Dida. We lost them because of craptastic defending. Get a clue.

[Xudong]

Leon should never ever take off his trench coat during the game( Marseille hit the bar as soon as he'd taken off his trademark coat)

Alright, I am going to take your words for it. :D

[zafrul]

I hope we buy freakin fullbacks during the winter break....

[zafrul]

Anyone have highlights of the match?

Links of the goals?

[Nalx]

I didn't watch the game. I just read the match report here and there. In a way I'm glad that we played awfully. It keeps our feet on the ground despite several good results from our league games. Just like the Merda, you know

[tim_milan]

I agree with everyone here and i have the same opinion too about last night s match. I m glad we survived with a draw atleast. There s nothing much to say, everyone were equally pathetic. The only time Milan played well was in the opening 10 mins.

Too many long balls. Just hoping Pato or Bori might get at the end of it. Thats a pathetic stratergy. I thought Milan were known for keeping ball possesion.

what pisses me off is that now its a must win for us against Zurich which i believe is not going to be very easy coz i think they play decently at home.

Lets just keep our fingers crossed and hope that we win, but definitely not with this sort of a performance.

[GeoTav]

Like I said at the start of this topic, we still have difficulties to play well against attacking teams, more especially when they try to press us in midfield. We're no more able to slow down the rythm and accelerate then.

Pirlo and Seedorf didn't have any space, so our trio was a bit isolated. Ronaldinho doesn't move enough, it's not normal to see Pato, who is more attacking than Ronaldinho, coming back to the midfield to touch balls when Ronaldinho on the other side doesn't do it.

And why Leonardo doesn't try sometimes to say to Ronaldinho and Pato to reverse their positions, even if it's just for 10 minutes. Taiwo is very physical but lets space to his opponents, so Ronaldinho would have had more time to decide what to do, and on the other side, Bonnart isn't very fast, so Pato could have passed him more easily than Taiwo ...

Anyway, during this game, I just thought that all the good games since the start of October were useless. But the fact that we end with a draw when we could have lost this game also means that we have some luck, it looks like we can't lose anymore ... :D

The next 2 W-E will be very important: it could allow us to take more points than Inter and/or Juventus and be back in the Scudetto race in December (the last few years, December was the month when we gave up this Scudetto race ...). If that's the case, Zurich will just be a small game during the week, an easy game.

Like hitmannq8 said, we are almost qualified (unfortunately not at the first position which means we could face Manchester, Chelsea, Barcelona and co in 1/8 ...) because I don't see Marseille beating Real Madrid. At best, they will draw.

[LebRN]

Poor match 
I don't agree that the problem was lack of rotation because most of the team had 2 weeks off to practice and this is only their 2nd match after the break.

given the system we are playing with 2 veryyyyyyy lonely midfielders (Pirlo & Ambro) coupled with our obvious and inexplicable lack of motivation & desire and the high pressing game they were exercising....I have to say, I think Leo failed to find an alternative...
When you have your opponent forcing you to lose possession so easily by playing long balls forward you have to ask your attacking players (or at least Seedorf) to get back and help moving the ball up the field
I know there are very very little choices on the bench to replace Seedorf in the position he is playing in but I think it would be better to adjust that position to help a bit more in midfield
Playing with just 2 midfielders (and keeping in mind our awful fullbacks) is not an excellent solution: you need 2 very hardworking players to cover all that ground and have excellent defensive skills as well and for me Flamini would be ideal in that especially given how very little Pirlo is contributing to the attack...

Why has Oddo become a regular?
Why do we think Abate is a better left back than Oddo?
Why do we not use Antonini?
Why do Pirlo / Seedorf never lose their place in the 1st team for Flamini?

I don’t believe that any of these changes would significantly affect Leo’s new system, which I have to say is usually beautiful to watch (offensively that is), but might help tighten things up at the back which we desperately need…

We cannot keep hoping to score more goals than we concede (against Cagliari), or that the woodwork comes to our rescue (twice against Marseille)…

Some changes in midfield and at the back are necessary if we want to have any chance of competing against a strong organized team….

I was thinking how pathetic Inter looked against Barca the night before, but after our match against Marseille, I’m just glad we had Real not Barca ;)

By the way, was anybody else as shocked as I was to see Pato skip past Taiwo to then being caught again by the same player?!?!?!? Has Pato lost pace or is Taiwo that fast?

[zak]

Evaluate players' performance in the game.
http://www.voteplayers.com/Matches/AC-Milan-vs-Olympique-de-Marseille-11252009-6327.aspx

[GeoTav]

By the way, was anybody else as shocked as I was to see Pato skip past Taiwo to then being caught again by the same player?!?!?!? Has Pato lost pace or is Taiwo that fast?

Taiwo is very fast ... I don't know if he is faster than Pato, but you run more slowly when you have the ball than without. So if they run at the same speed without the ball, it's just logical that Taiwo is faster without the ball than Pato with it (and vice-versa).

In that case, generally, Pato manages to dribble his opponent anyway, but Taiwo is also a physical monster :D, it's why he was able to take the ball to Pato.

Don't worry for Pato for that ...

[LebRN]

Taiwo is very fast ... I don't know if he is faster than Pato, but you run more slowly when you have the ball than without. So if they run at the same speed without the ball, it's just logical that Taiwo is faster without the ball than Pato with it (and vice-versa).

In that case, generally, Pato manages to dribble his opponent anyway, but Taiwo is also a physical monster :D, it's why he was able to take the ball to Pato.

Don't worry for Pato for that ...

obviously you can run faster without the ball, but usually Pato leaves all players for dead....that's why i was surprised...
but if you say Taiwo is very fast then i guess that explains it...i very rarely watch french football...let alone Marseille...
although to be honest, i have seen Lisandro with Porto and Hazard with Lille...IMPRESSIVE

[Aficio]

There is one thing you almost forgot: the rain. It tired our players fast and maked our passes looked atrociuos.

Pirlo is needed for long pass or pump the ball into the box, his pass for Zambrotta to 1 vs 1 with Mandanda was good. His presence give us more attacking choice. However, he will be suspended for next Serie A match, so Flamini must have a chance (Frankly, I like to see 2 real DMs behind Seedorf, the old set up was simply too risky).

I agreed with all of you about wing backs, lack of fitness and midfield control, but our system is not perfect yet, it need some try & error. We are lucky to draw and still can qualify.

[Fret]

I'm starting to get a bit concerned that Flamini might consider leaving this club.
I know I would if I were him

[LebRN]

Pirlo .... will be suspended for next Serie A match, so Flamini must have a chance (Frankly, I like to see 2 real DMs behind Seedorf, the old set up was simply too risky).


i cannot agree more...
i was actually happy to learn that Pirlo will be suspended because i really would like to see Ambro-Flamini in midfield and it did not seem it could materialise if not enforced...now the problem is that Flamini has this one chance to make a case because i am not sure when he will get a 2nd so i really hope he can do well because he is good enough but is missing match rythm...
go Flamini... (one of the very very few french players i like) :)

[ACMILAN1983]

Yesterday's game didn't really surprise me, as we've really struggled against physical sides this season. Fast teams and teams with a lot of power really put us in difficulty as we don't have enough players capable of competing physically.

The first half was poor. I won't repeat everything I said at half time, but we simply lacked any spark after scoring. We just kind of stopped playing and the attack simply wasn't helping out at the back enough. This is fine against small opponents normally, but against better sides we have to be a more solid unit.

The second half was an improvement, but we were physically drained fairly quickly compared to Marseille. Leo's post match comment about them having 2 extra days of rest is partly true, though we cannot obviously deny the fact that they are much stronger than us from a physical standpoint.

When all's said and done, the draw is probably the right result. We were dominated, but we created better chances. Marseille were unlucky to hit the post a couple of times.

Players...

Dida - I felt he costed us the goal
Oddo - Atrocious while on and the other culprit to cost us a goal. His injury was a blessing in disguise tbh
Nesta - Not at his best as he had some dodgy moments when in possession
Thiago - A rock generally speaking
Zambro - Beaten a number of times down his side, but excellent going forward, especially in the first half when Pirlo was covering him most of the time
Ambro - Solid performance
Pirlo - Struggled as he was pressed the whole time. Worked hard though
Seedorf - Needs to help out defensively more. I'm sick of saying this but it's true. Wasn't impressive when on the ball either
Dinho - Tried a few nice passes, but little to get excited about overall
Pato - Poor game by his standards. He wasn't bad as such, just struggled to get into the game and when he had possession he had no support
Borriello - Good goal but should have scored at least 2, maybe 3
Abate - He lacks positional sense too often. Was better than Oddo still

We need to just accept the result and be glad everything's in our own hands. Anything but a win against Zurich is unacceptable.

[Blacktop]

I'm starting to get a bit concerned that Flamini might consider leaving this club.
Why? There haven't been any rumors of such. Don't create something out of nothing.